Tiger Trio Named to Lombardi Award Watch List

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – The Lombardi Award, in conjunction with the Rotary Club of Houston, announced on Thursday, August 15, the 90 players who will compete for this year’s coveted award.

The Lombardi Award goes annually to the college football offensive or defensive lineman who exemplifies the character and discipline of NFL Hall of Fame Head Coach Vince Lombardi in addition to outstanding performance and ability.

A total of 11 players out of the Atlantic Coast Conference were named to the preseason watch list, including linebacker Barrett Carter, offensive tackle Blake Miller and defensive tackle Peter Woods of Clemson.

Other ACC players on the watch list include defensive end Patrick Payton and offensive tackle Darius Washington of Florida State, defensive end Ashton Gillotte of Louisville, defensive end Rueben Bain, Jr. of Miami, edge rusher Kaimon Rucker of North Carolina, offensive guard Logan Parr of SMU, and defensive tackle Aeneas Peebles and defensive end Antwaun Powell-Ryland of Virginia Tech.

To be considered for the Lombardi Award, players must be an NCAA FBS College Football team member and meet the following qualifications:

• Be a down Lineman, end to end, either on offense or defense, setting up no further than ten (10) yards to the left or right of the ball at the time of the snap.
• Be a Linebacker on defense, setting up no further than five (5) yards deep from the line of scrimmage.
• Must not come out of the offensive backfield and set up on the line of scrimmage as a Blocker or a Receiver or listed in the program as an Offensive Back or Receiver.
• Be eligible to participate in the current season.

ACC Representatives on the 2024 Lombardi Award Preseason Watch List:

Name, School, Class, Position
Barret Carter, Clemson, Senior, LB
Blake Miller, Clemson, Junior, OT
Peter Woods, Clemson, Sophomore, DT
Patrick Payton, Florida State, Redshirt Junior, DE
Darius Washington, Florida State, Redshirt Senior, OT
Ashton Gillotte, Louisville, Senior, DE
Rueben Bain, Jr., Miami, Sophomore, DE
Kaimon Rucker, North Carolina, Graduate Student, DE
Logan Parr, SMU, Senior, OG
Aeneas Peebles, Virginia Tech, Graduate Student, DT
Antwaun Powell-Ryland, Virginia Tech, Redshirt Senior, DE

ACC Football Notes

• The ACC is the Conference of Quarterbacks, with the return of full-time starters Thomas Castellanos at Boston College, Cade Klubnik at Clemson, Grayson Loftis at Duke, Haynes King at Georgia Tech, Preston Stone at SMU, and Kyron Drones at Virginia Tech, and transfers DJ Uiagalelei at Florida State, Tyler Shough at Louisville, Cam Ward at Miami, Grayson McCall at NC State, and Kyle McCord at Syracuse among others.
  • ACC had 10 quarterbacks named to the Maxwell Award preseason watch list, no other conference had more.
  • ACC had eight quarterbacks named to the Davey O’Brien Award preseason watch list, no other conference had more.
  • ACC has the top-ranked group of quarterback transfers in 2024 by CBS Sports.
  • 13 QBs in the league enter the 2024 season with over 20 career touchdown passes and 3,500 career passing yards.
  • Eight quarterbacks from ACC schools are projected to start Week 1 in the 2024 NFL season — 25 percent of NFL teams.
  • Since 2018, the ACC has had at least one quarterback drafted in the first round in five different drafts — the only conference to do that.
• The ACC’s non-conference schedule continues to be the most challenging in the country.
  • 27 games against Power 4 opponents, including Notre Dame, the most of any conference.
  • Nine non-conference games against teams ranked in the final 2023 Associated Press Top 25 Poll, the most of any conference.
  • 10 non-conference games against teams in ESPN’s 2024 Way-Too-Early Top 25, the most of any conference.
• ACC Features Elite Coaching Leadership
  • Six ACC head coaches were named to the 2024 Dodd Trophy Preseason Watch List, as announced by the Bobby Dodd Coach of the Year Foundation and the Peach Bowl, no other conference had more.
  • Two of the three active coaches to win a national title reside in the ACC – Dabo Swinney led Clemson to national titles in 2016 and 2018. North Carolina’s Mack Brown won a national title at Texas in 2005.
• The 2024 ACC Football Championship Game will kick off in primetime at 8 p.m. ET on ABC on Saturday, Dec. 7, at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, North Carolina.

About the Lombardi Award
The Rotary Lombardi Award is an award for college football in the United States and is awarded annually by the Rotary Club of Houston, Texas, to the college football player “who best embodies the values and spirit of NFL’s legendary coach Vince Lombardi”. The Rotary Lombardi Award program was created in 1970 shortly after the death of Lombardi. The committee outlined the original criteria for eligibility for the award, which remain in place until this day.

About the ACC
The Atlantic Coast Conference, in its 72nd year and 18 members strong, stands as one of the most competitive and revered intercollegiate conferences in the nation. ACC members including Boston College, Cal, Clemson, Duke, Florida State, Georgia Tech, Louisville, Miami, North Carolina, NC State, Notre Dame, Pitt, SMU, Stanford, Syracuse, Virginia, Virginia Tech, and Wake Forest are dedicated to upholding the league’s founding values of academic excellence, athletic competition at the highest level, and integrity. The ACC supports 28 NCAA sports, with 15 for women and 13 for men, and its member institutions span 12 states. In August 2019, the ACC and ESPN partnered to launch ACC Network (ACCN), a 24/7 national network exclusively devoted to ACC sports and original programming. For more information, visit theACC.com and follow the ACC on Instagram (@accsports), Twitter (@theACC) and Facebook (facebook.com/theACC).